Categories: Concept Cars

It looks like Toyota's new focus on sporty cars will extend right up to its luxury brand. At least that's what we gather if the LF-LC concept is any indication of the future plans at Lexus. Shortly after the car leaked earlier this week, Lexus provided an official preview.

Lexus hasn't provided much hard information on the car, but did give us a pretty thorough look with a variety of pictures. The car is very sporty and aggressive, featuring a heavily raked, slung back cabin that flows into a rear lip spoiler. The LF-LC also features a panoramic glass roof. If produced, this car would easily rank among Lexus' sexiest, sportiest offerings.

In a whimsical bit of holiday merriment, Ford introduced a concept sleigh that it thinks can save Santa a lot of money. The company's Ecoboost Sleigh uses a tiny, 1.0-liter Ecoboost engine to deliver some serious fuel savings to the jolly, old guy.

Personally, I would have thought that traveling by way of reindeer was already about as green as you can be, but according to Ford, Santa's herd puts out some 214,670 tons of CO2-equivalent emissions a year. I was going to challenge that assessment, but then realized I'd be arguing about a fanciful concept created for a fictional character. Plus Ford actually provides a pretty thorough breakdown of its numbers.

Just last week we received a teaser image of Volvo’s upcoming V40 model, set to fill the recently vacant pants of a deceased V50. While we initially thought Volvo’s model lineup gap filler would be labeled the V30, as the vehicle is basically a five-door C30, Volvo CEO Stefan Jacoby confirmed otherwise.

Say hello to the V40, caught by Autoblog’s savvy spy photos at CarPix during a reenactment of the Great Blizzard of 1978.

Well, not really. But, whatever the context we can draw at least one conclusion from Volvo’s winter conditions testing. Up until this point we’ve only been able to assume the V40 would be equipped with front-wheel-drive and mated to a model-topping 240 horsepower turbo four-cylinder. Although Volvo has not explicitly mentioned an AWD variant, these winter testing photos might suggest that Volvo is – at least – considering the matter.

Motoring fans everywhere have witnessed a slow degradation of the driving experience for years. 6-speed manual transmissions have shifted to something entirely less exciting, the CVT, and the road-feel of yesterday’s vehicles has become a mere afterthought on the pillow-top suspensions of today. And yet, the savvy tycoons at Google have claimed yet another aspect of the automotive industry – this time chipping away at the very essence of what makes driving fun.

Originally filed May 11 of this year, the USPTO just recently awarded Google patent #8,078,349 which specifically claims ownership of certain events where a mixed-mode car can transition from a human driver to an autonomous mode.

Up until now, fans would have had to actually download Ford’s latest Fusion app to glimpse into the vehicle’s future. But for those of us without an Android or iOS device or the motivation to download a teaser app, ahem, this might have been a challenging task. Ford has thought through the dilemma and produced a promotional video for the Fusion’s promotional launch – or a teaser video for a teaser app. Regardless of how you might feel, Ford’s new Fusion reveal app allows excited fans to slowly worship the upcoming 2013 Fusion day-by-day up until the car’s official unveiling in January and Ford’s video does a great job of making something, which sounds entirely hokey, actually exciting.

Interestingly, Ford has opted to label the experience ‘augmented reality’ – as if apps were anything else. Snide commentary aside, the Fusion app launches by the grit and determination of the app’s consumer. Players must find and capture a Ford logo with their respective device’s camera. Then, the logo initiates a Pokémon-reminiscent startup featuring virtual images, music choices, and a series of unlocking worlds which reveal various stages of the Fusion itself. Gotta catch ‘em all.

Well, there have been years of rumors about two separate cars, but it's finally official: an Acura NSX successor is here. Or at least close to here--Acura confirmed rumors that it will debut an NSX successor at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show in January.

From what Acura has said, the rumors have been pretty spot on. In addition to confirming the Detroit debut, Acura told Inside Line that the NSX successor will use a mid-engined, V-6-based hybrid powertrain. Given that other information from previous reports has been quite accurate, we're pretty comfortable with the idea that the NSX will have a V-6 engine in the range of 3.5 liters along with two electric motors.

It's pretty clear that Nissan really wants to build a hot hatch version of the Juke crossover. First, it stimulated wild dreams with the radical but for-show-only Juke R concept in Frankfurt. Then it showed the more realistic Juke Nismo Concept at the Tokyo Motor Show and announced that Nismo will have a greater role in building performance road models.

So, we'd have to assume that unless the reaction to the Juke Nismo was horrible or a business case proves elusive, Nissan will be building some type of high-performance, Nismo-engineered Juke. According to reports, the model hasn't been given the go-ahead yet, but should get a green or red light within a few months.

When you look over the pictures and spec sheet of the Nissan Juke R concept, you're left with the feeling that the extreme crossover must have been built by a tuning shop. Because what major automotive brand commissions something like a 530-hp small crossover? What automaker in their right, sane mind mashes a GT-R supercar and an entry level crossover?

Not Nissan, apparently. According to new reports, the British team that built the Juke R never actually got permission from Nissan's corporate headquarters. And, honestly, the Juke R makes a lot more sense now.

It looks like more utility within the electric city car segment is going to be a theme at next year's auto shows. We've already seen a Detroit-bound Smart For-Us pickup concept, and now we have another versatile Smart: the For-Two Electric Drive equipped with Rinspeed's new Dock+Go.

Unlike the Smart For-Us concept, Rinspeed's Dock + Go is an aftermarket accessory, not a unique model. It is designed to work with the Smart For-Two and is essentially a range-extending trailer that can be outfitted with either a gas engine or fuel cell. In this way, you can have an electric city car for your daily commute and a longer-range hybrid or fuel-cell electric for longer drives.

Smart has just released images of the company’s latest concept, an urban assault-type vehicle set to debut at next month’s Detroit Auto Show. Although a bit humorous in comparison with other modern pickup trucks, the Smart For-Us is targeted for young folks looking for a quasi-practical loading vehicle capable of handling at least two full-sized bicycles.

But, don’t get the wrong idea. The For-Us will be small, really small.

Over the past month details have slowly emerged about Dodge’s newest entry into the compact sedan segment. Discussions initially raged about possible design platforms, engine options, and finally the would-be Dodge’s future name. We know now, this latest Dodge will be officially labeled the Dart – channeling days of yore.

Along with a company-provided teaser website, the following images allow an opportunity for tiny Mopar fans to start salivating. What’s more, since we know the 2013 Dodge Dart will be based on Alfa Romeo’s Giulietta, we can get a basic idea of how the car might look by imagining the front and rear fascia images provided by Dodge tacked onto the body of an appropriate Alfa.